Twins
by inudigifan201
Summary: After being in New York for 3 years, Adrien gets invited to be the best man for Nino and Alya's wedding. But, he discovers he's a father to two toddlers. Only the confusing thing is, Marinette is the twins' mother.
1. Marinette's kittens

hello... *scratches back of head* I'm back. so... this was sitting in my dropbox and i was going to make it a really long short story, but i figured it would be better if i broke it up into parts. I'm trying to get into writing more. depression makes you not want to do things you love. anyway, I'm working on Married to a stranger and I Don't. i also want to work on ML 90's as well, but it didn't seem very popular, so i'll just put it on the back burner.

i know this isn't the first "Adrien leaves for New York only to come back and find out he's a dad" story, but i thought I'd give it my own spin. also probably one of my longest chapter 1s.

enjoy! review please.

~inudigifan201

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Ch, 1. Marinette's kittens

Adrien didn't understand what he was looking at. Well, not completely true. He knew exactly what he was looking at, but he didn't understand it.

Toddlers, two of them... twins, at least 2 years old... maybe 3.

The girl looked up at him with his own curious green eyes, but her hair was black as night. The boy scowled at him with blue bell eyes, but his hair was blond and styled like his own when he was a teenager. The girl had her hair down, but a green bow was tied to keep her bangs out of her face. She also wore a cute little black sundress with little green paw prints all over it, white tights, and a pair of black strap-on dress shoes. Her brother wore a red sweater over a black dress shirt un-tucked from his pair of black dress pants, red socks, his little black loafers were in his mother's hand.

Now this is the part that had Adrien confused. The twins' mother was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Louis! Stop staring like that, it's rude." Marinette chided the tot. "I'm sorry Adrien Louis isn't like this normally."

"Mommy!" The girl pointed at him and looked up at her mother. "He's handsome!"

Marinette paled as Adrien blushed.

How long had Adrien been gone? Not long enough for Marinette to get a boyfriend and have kids, right? At least not this old, right? Well, it didn't matter, he didn't have a choice on leaving. He did choose to come back for Alya and Nino's wedding, to which they were going over for rehearsal. He was the best man. He was going to catch up with his friends and hopefully pick up where he left off. But, that plan didn't seem plausible anymore. Although, he had to admit, 1) these kids were adorable as well as what he imagined what his and Ladybug's kids would look like.

And 2) Marinette was drop dead gorgeous. With her raven hair longer and down with a green ribbon keeping her bangs out of her eyes that didn't match the rest of her outfit, her face a bit more mature, her dark gray pencil skirt and pink silk top under the matching jacket accented her womanly curves rather nicely, and her pink heels made her a tiny bit taller.

She giggled as she squeezed the little girl's hand. "Kids say the darnedest things."

He gave her a warm smile as he shrugged. "It's ok. May I ask who their father is?"

Marinette tensed up as she stopped giggling. "He's not around." She grabbed the little boy's hand and walked away with her children to the nearest bathroom to cry without anyone knowing... and to get the twins to go potty before they left the church.

Adrien scratched the back of his neck. He didn't mean to upset her.

Nino put an arm around his shoulder. "The twins dad had to leave for New York because of his job. He doesn't even know he's a dad. He didn't have a choice. When Mari found out she decided not to contact him and raise the kids herself... although at the time she didn't know she was pregnant with twins."

"That's awful!" Adrien gazed at his best friend.

Nino shrugged. "Yeah, but that's life. Stuff like this happens."

Adrien bit his lip.

_It was his first and only time he had ever gotten laid, but at the moment, Adrien didn't care. He thought he and Ladybug would grow old together. They had to detransform to do the deed with all the lights off in the hotel room, but he was going to tell her the truth in the morning. He thought he had finally had the love he so desperately craved. _

_Ladybug had finally accepted his feelings, well, she did more than that. But, nothing else mattered at the moment as they were in each other's arms. _

_The little light from the bathroom and the city outside the window outlined their figures and he fell even more in love with her. _

"_Marry me." He whispered. _

_She rolled her eyes and nuzzled into his chest. "Can I sleep first and answer that tomorrow?" _

_He held her tighter. "Sure."_

_The harsh morning sun wasn't what woke him up from the dream of a lifetime, it was his phone informing him his father was calling. He took the phone to the bathroom in the hotel room they were in so he wouldn't wake the love of his life sleeping beside him. _

_One life changing conversation for the worse later, Adrien hung up with tears in his eyes. His father didn't even give him a chance to say no. He slid to the floor._

"_Chat?" He heard his lady from the other side of the door. "Are you ok?"_

_Tears ran down his face. He wasn't allowed to be happy, he should have known. Why did his father hate him so?_

"_Bugaboo." He choked. "I have to go." More tears flowed. "I have no choice." He sniffled. "I'm sorry. I want to be with you so bad, but I..."_

"_Kitty what in the world are you talking about?" She jiggled the doorknob, but he blocked the door._

"_That was my boss on the phone. I'm being relocated to New York." Well, it was the truth. He knew how much she hated lairs. "I love you so much, but I can't ask you to drop everything here and come with me. I wish you happiness."_

_The doorknob stopped jiggling. He could hear her sit down on the ground on the other side of the door._

"_I love you too. I was going to say yes." She curled up into a ball._

_His heart sank. Any other day he would have been overjoyed to hear that, but not today. _

"Rumor has it that Chat Noir is the father." Alya held Nino's hand.

Adrien blinked. He was Chat Noir. He had the ring and cheese loving Kwami to prove it. But, he never slept with Marinette.

Alya must have sensed his confusion. "Well, other than you, who else could it be? Emma has green eyes which Mari said she got from the baby daddy. And Louis is blond, there are no blonds in Mari's side of the family." She shrugged. "Mari would have told us if you were the father."

"And she's been extremely tight lipped about his identity." Nino added.

Adrien nodded. He had a gut feeling his friends weren't wrong with their guess and that he was the twins' father! But, he still wanted it confirmed. Did this mean Marinette was Ladybug? She had to be if the twins were his.

"Mommy?" Louis tugged at her skirt. "If that man made you cry? I'll beat him up for you."

Marinette wiped her tears, picked up the boy and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry about it sweetie. Adrien didn't make me cry."

"Did you get an owie?" Emma tugged on her skirt as well.

Marinette gave her a sweet smile and picked her up as well. She too got a kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine... I'm fine." She told herself more than anything.

She took a deep breath and walked to the door. "Louis sweetie could you..." Louis grabbed the handle and opened it for her. "Thanks baby."

The little boy smiled wide. "Anything for you mommy." He hugged her neck.

She held her head high and walked forward as the bathroom door closed behind her. "Alya, Nino? Are you two still on for babysitting tonight?" She asked as she got closer to her friends.

Alya smiled. "Of course girl."

"No problem dude." Nino nodded.

Marinette smiled. "Thanks guys."

"We're not babies." Louis pouted.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Of course not Lou, you're my little man."

Louis stuck out his chest to show how much of a little man he was.

Adrien smirked as he remembered his own mother calling him her little man when he was a child. He missed his mother. But, his heart ached as he gazed at the twins. They were his twins. He didn't need a DNA test, he just knew. And Marinette, sweet talented beautiful Marinette, was his Ladybug.

Louis noticed Adrien staring. "Stop looking at my mommy creep!" He scowled.

Adrien became confused. He'd never been called a creep before.

"Louis!" Marinette chided him. "That's Uncle Adrien! He's not a creep!"

His heart sank, Uncle Adrien? That had to be fixed. _That's your father! _If only she knew.

That night Adrien suited up and hoped he'd run into his princess... to his surprise, he ran into his Lady on patrol.

Even as Ladybug she looked more mature. Her hair was up in a ponytail, her suit was the same, but she filled it out better.

His look wasn't that different either. His messy hair was a bit longer, as Adrien he mainly kept his hair slicked back although a stray hair would always end up on his forehead. His suit hadn't changed much. His bell zipper was down a bit to show off his toned chest and his staff was in two pieces on his back. Everything else was pretty much the same. As Adrien he wore pretty much nothing but formal suits to work, when he was off he stayed in his apartment and in his pjs unless he had to go out. Sweats, t-shirt, and a hoodie with tennis shoes were his going out clothes. Although, on his flight back to Paris, he wore a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and one of his suit jackets as well as a pair of tennis shoes. At the wedding rehearsal he wore a suit, like he did every day at the office. Alya did tell him to dress formally and he didn't want to piss her off, so, he did.

"Nice night for a patrol." He walked up to her on the roof of a building.

She gasped and looked back at him. She stared at him a moment and then tears welled up in her eyes. "Kitty! It... It's you!"

He gave her a warm smile as he scratched the back of his neck. "Who else would it be?"

She ran to him and tackled him to the ground, hugging him all the while.

He smiled wide. "I missed you too Bugaboo."

She let her tears flow as he rubbed her back with soothing motions. He didn't want this moment to end. But, he knew it had to. They weren't teenagers anymore.

"What are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you again." She asked through her tears.

"I'm visiting for a friend's wedding, but I'm going to try to convince my boss to let me relocate back here… back home. I've missed Paris so much. I've missed you. I haven't even looked at other women... well, I have to look at women I work with, but I haven't had any feelings for them. They're just people I see on a daily basis with professionalism. There's a rumor going around at the office that I'm gay, but I'm not."

"I know kitty." She kissed him on the cheek. She was so happy to see him, it hurt.

"Sooo..." He sat up. "I've been miserable. How have you been? Is there a man in your life I have to worry about?"

She sat in his lap. A chuckle escaped her lips. "The only men in my life I care about are my dad and…" She took a deep breath. He was going to find out eventually and it would be better if she told him. "... and our son."

He acted shocked. "We have a son?!"

She nodded. "And a daughter. They're twins."

He nodded as well. "Makes sense, we've only done it once." He gave her a warm smile and brushed hair out of her face as she wiped away her tears. "Can I ask... is it ok if... can you… can you tell me about them?"

She took a deep breath. "Well, our daughter is just like you." He smiled wide at that. "And our son is a lot like me, but for some odd reason has an obsession with bugs, not Ladybugs like his sister is obsessed with black cats, but spiders, praying mantises, cockroaches..."

"Yuck." He stuck out his tongue.

"He wants a pet tarantula." She rolled her eyes. "I've said no."

"I agree with that." He gave her a cheeky smile. "But I bet he's stubborn like you and hopes to wear you down."

She sighed. "Yes."

He kissed her on the cheek. "I love our kids already. I'd love to meet them. Hopefully pick up where you and I left off." He kissed her neck. She gasped and blushed. Man, did he miss that sound.

What he did not expect was a finger to his nose, just like the old days, pushing him away. "As much as I would love that… what if you can't get your boss to let you stay? I don't want the twins getting attached to you and you leave again... I don't think I... they can handle it." _'I can't handle it.'_

He rubbed her cheek. "He'll let me move back." He kissed her lips. A soft peck really. "He has to." His lips moved back down to her neck. "How else am I going to take over the company when he retires?" He peppered kisses all over her exposed skin. "My name is on the company name after all."

"What?" She asked between moans.

"My boss is my father." He sighed and pulled himself away. "I should have told you years ago, but I was planning on reveling my identity to you that morning... remember, after that night we shared. But my father ruined my plans."

She hugged him. "I think about that night every day."

"I do too, I wish it was longer. I wish we had more time together." He hugged her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. He sighed. "I wish _**we**_ were getting married. I wish I was there for our kids."

She nuzzled his chest. "Would you really have stayed if I had told you I was pregnant?"

"Even if it was that other guy you had feelings for kids." He hugged her tighter. "Who was he anyway?"

"I'm over him, it doesn't matter." That was a slight lie. Seeing him earlier that day made her feel like she was 13 again and he was handing her that umbrella in the rain. She wasn't completely over him.

"I'm just curious." He shrugged.

She sighed knowing there was no getting out of it. "Fine. I had a huge crush on Adrien Agreste, but after 4 years of trying to catch his attention and hopefully go out on a date with him, I gave up and gave you a chance. Happy?"

He pulled away from her and blinked. She had a crush on him? How did he not realize his princess had feelings for him? A sly smile graced his face, he could use this information to his advantage. "You know, since we're confessing crushes..."

"I knew I wasn't the only girl you liked." She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Well," He shrugged. "I never admitted it to anyone, not even myself until after I moved to New York, but I had a little crush on this girl in my class in high school. Her name is Marinette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He continued to give her a sly smile. "I subconsciously hoped you and her were the same person." It was all the truth.

She blushed uncontrollably. That's why he called her princess!

He shrugged. "It's getting late. How about I walk you home?"

She shouldn't let him, but, at the same time she wanted him too. She just wanted to be around him a little longer, but it was dangerous. She stood up. "I have to show up alone. Nobody knows you're the father and the kids can't see you." She sighed. "Besides, my babysitters will have a fit."

He smiled as he stood up as well. "Nobody has to see me until you're ready for them to see me." He rolled his eyes.

She sighed. "Fine." She grabbed her yo-yo. "But as soon as we get to my babysitters' house you have to leave."

He crossed his arms with a small pout. "And leave the mother of my children and my children to fend for themselves?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I live right next door to my babysitters'."

"Oh." He grabbed his staff. "Then I guess you'll be alright."

They didn't take long to get to the little suburb. In fact, the trip was a way too short for either of their liking.

She sighed as she hid behind a bush to detransform. "This is where were say goodbye."

He grabbed her arm before she could completely disappear from his sight. "Not goodbye, Goodnight." He smiled and kissed her hand through the bush.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head not knowing he could see her and knew who she was. "Goodnight Kitty."

His tail formed a heart. "It would be a better night if I could spend it with you and the kids."

She sighed. "We talked about this."

He sighed as well and let go of her hand. "I know, but can't blame a cat for trying."

He hopped up into a tree and watched as she took a deep breath and turn to the house that had the porch light on.

She could feel him watching her and knew he already knew who she was by now. There was no hiding it anymore. She couldn't deny him her identity anymore. She still felt bad dating him a year and never telling him who she was under the mask. They were partners after all… and now, parents.

She sighed as she rang the doorbell. Not two seconds later it flew open and her twins wearing their pajamas stood in the doorway with huge smiles on their faces.

"Mommy!" They both called out and jumped into her arms.

Adrien smiled wide with pride as he watched the twins tell Mari about their night. He could hear everything too. Aunt Alya gave them a bath and uncle Nino made dinner which consisted of chicken nuggets and mac n cheese.

His heart sank. Oh how he wanted to be down there and regaled of a dance party and how Alya did Emma's hair. He had to change that. He had to be a part of their lives. He did not want to be like his own father and not be around.

He watched as Mari gave Alya a hug and waved her goodnight. His family then turned to the house on the right that was completely dark and walk up to it. Mari grabbed her keys out of her jacket pocket and unlocked the door. All he could do was watch as his whole world disappeared into the house. Once she and the kids were safe inside and a few lights were on inside, he left for his hotel room. He didn't get any sleep that night.

The next morning Adrien sprang up from bed and quickly got dressed. He neglected his hair and let it be a complete mess. Plagg flew into his pocket as he stuffed his wallet and phone in another. Once in the lobby, he ignored everyone that tried to talk to him. He was on a mission.

He hailed a taxi and told the driver where to take him. The car soon pulled up to the mansion he grew up in… the mansion where he knew where his father was.

The security let him in no problem and even Nathalie couldn't stop him from bursting into his father's office.

The older Agreste looked up as his son with disdain. "Adrien, you know better than not waiting to be announced." He raised an eyebrow. "And what are you wearing?"

Adrien looked himself over. He wore a pair of jeans, a silk button up shirt, a hoodie, and a pair of loafers. "That's not important."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I let you live on your own for 3 years and you come back a mess."

"I was in a rush this morning and didn't pay attention to what I was putting on." Adrien sighed. This conversation wasn't going anywhere.

"Obviously you were not ready for the real world." Gabriel closed his designs. "Although having you move back in with me will be a fight neither of us want."

"Actually father. I want to come back to Paris… I never wanted to leave really." Finally, Adrien could bring up why he was here this morning. "But you're right. I don't want to live with you anymore."

Gabriel put his head on his hands. "I'm listening."

Adrien took a deep breath. Time to tell his father why he was here. "I had a secret girlfriend 3 years ago. I had just proposed to her when you called me telling me you were sending me to New York. So she and I had to break up even though she was going to say yes but I couldn't ask her to leave her friends and family here and it was the most heart wrenching thing we had to do. I ran into her yesterday at my friend's wedding rehearsal and…" He took another deep breath.

Gabriel interrupted. "Let me guess, you saw her and you fell for her all over again and want to drop everything to be with her? Just know if you do I will take away your inheritan…"

"I'm a father." Adrien interrupted him.

"What?" Was all Gabriel could say as his eyes bulged and his glasses slid down his nose.

"Yes seeing her made me fall for her all over again, but I also met my kids. Twins. She carried my twins and I wasn't there. I wasn't there for their birth, their first steps, their first words… anything." Adrien began to tear up. "I don't want to miss anything else. I can't miss anything else."

Gabriel took his glasses off. "How do you even know they're yours?"

Adrien shrugged. "They look just like me. Especially the boy, but he has his mother's eyes. And the girl has my eyes, but looks just like her mother."

"I want a DNA test." Gabriel put his glasses back on.

"I'll get one then." Adrien crossed his arms.

"Do your kids call anyone else daddy?" Gabriel reopened his designs.

"No." Adrien smiled. "Their mother is raising them on her own." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not dropping everything. I have back child support I need to pay… even though she hasn't asked me to pay any. But I feel bad that I've been absent their entire lives so far. I feel like I owe my kids. I'm not quitting my job, just asking to be relocated… begging really."

"DNA test first, then we'll talk about it." Gabriel waved him out.

"Fine." Adrien nodded. He didn't need one, but he'd get one anyway for his father if it meant he could be there for his kids. Anything for his kids and princess.

Marinette showed her badge to security and was let into the mansion. She held her portfolio close to her chest as she took a deep breath.

"Mr. Agreste will see you in a moment." Nathalie glanced up at her.

She gave her a small smile. "Thank you." Her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was a text from the twins' daycare teacher. Louis was apparently throwing a tantrum and wanted his mommy. She texted back saying "Tell him I'm at work and can't drop everything. Tell him I love him."

"Marinette?"

She looked up and locked eyes with Adrien.

"Adrien?!" She blushed and backed up.

He smiled and opened his arms to hug her, but then remember who has was and where he was at the moment, so his left arm snapped back to his side and his right smoothed his hair. _'Smooth recovery Agreste.'_

She gulped. "I'm so sorry about Louis yesterday. He's just so overprotective of me."

He blinked but smiled. "Oh? No big. I wasn't taking anything he said seriously." He tried to wave her nervousness off. "He's only… how old?"

"Two and a half." She blushed even more.

He smiled proudly. "Big boy."

She gave him a small smile. "He's my little kitty…" She paled. "I mean man." She spattered out.

He chuckled a little under his breath. "I totally get it."

Her face was encompassed with red.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, Mr. Agreste will see you now." Nathalie spoke from the door to the office.

"It was nice talking to you Adrien." Marinette quickly headed for the open door.

"You too… My lady." Adrien spoke under his breath after the door shut.

Night fell and Marinette was busy cutting vegetables she knew her kids weren't going to eat but she decided to fix them anyway. The kids were glued to the tv watching a Disney movie, neither moving.

A knock at the back door behind her startled her. She held her knife imposingly if the visitor meant harm. She peeked through the certain and was greeted by Chat Noir holding a bouquet of pink and red roses.

She sighed and opened the door as she put the knife down on the counter. She leaned on the frame and gave him an annoyed look. "What are you doing here?"


	2. Adrien's little bugs

*rap music plays* Guess who's back, back again, inudigi's back, tell a friend.

*looks at how fanfiction has deleted all my documents except this one* well good thing i have the original files on my computer. wow, I've kinda fallen off the face of the world didn't I? *scratches back of head* sorry about that. i didn't mean to leave for so long, it kinda just happened.

alright, let's address some things:

1) this story isn't over. believe it or not, i have a beginning, middle and ending planned for this one.

2) I've read the story y'all were telling me about in the reviews. I thought it was alright. it defiantly inspired this fic, but that's about it. this story and that story are completely different.

3) I'm not well versed in french law... nor American law for that matter. but, my best friend had to get a paternity test done on her son and her ex to prove he was his (he's clearly his. boy looks just like the jerk that cheated on her, but i digress). i think a judge ordered it because they were in court... y'all pray for my best friend and her husband. they're going through a lot of crap right now. mostly caused by her mother and her ex... but his ex is also a pain. good news is that best friend and her husband have a beautiful blended family and just welcomed a boy into this world a couple weeks ago. He's a sweet chill little angel.

4) I'm not giving up writing. i love it too much... in fact I've been working on my own original story that i hope to get published someday. It's about a girl who finds out she's royalty and a dragon.

enjoy! review please.

~inudigifan201

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Ch, 2. Adrien's little bugs

Chat held up the flowers and gave her a warm smile. "Hey princess."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "You figured it out."

He shrugged. "Well, it wasn't hard. Just look for the cute, amazing woman with an equally adorable set of twins. That, and I watched you pick up the kids from a tree."

"I knew it." She crossed her arms.

"So I talked to my dad…" Chat began.

"We also talked about the kids not seeing you." She pouted.

"I can move back if I can prove the kids are mine." He continued and held the flowers up again.

She took the bouquet. "Trust me, they're yours."

He beamed. "I know."

She gave him a small smile, but quickly hid it with the flowers.

He sighed and his smile faded. "But my father won't take our word. He wants a paternity test."

She shrugged. "Alright." She then turned around and walked back into the kitchen to finish dinner and put the roses in a vase.

"I'll pay for it and everything… wait did you say alright?" He became confused.

"It will only prove what we already know. You're their father." She scrapped the veggies she was cutting into the stir-fry she was making.

"I honestly thought you'd fight me on it." He walked in and pulled up a chair from a small table in the corner of the room.

She sighed. "You want to be in their lives, I'm not going to keep you from them. And you're making an effort to stay." She began to tear up. "You just found out about them yesterday. How do you even know if you're going to love them?"

He gave her a warm smile. "I fell in love with you the moment we met. How are my kids any different?" He stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Maybe I'm an idoit who just wants a real family again." He pushed a few stray hairs out of her face. "By the way, I like the hair down look." He blushed.

She blushed profusely. "Stop that." She grabbed his hand, spun him around and held his arm to his back.

He chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit princess; I see that wall you built when we were teens is back up."

She proudly smiled. "It has to be. For my kids."

He sighed. "You let it down when we were dating."

"I put it right back up when you left." A sniffle betrayed her emotions.

"You know I didn't want to. I didn't have a choice."

"You could have fought it." Her voice cracked. She let go of his arm and went back to the stir-fry, trying to hide her tears.

He sighed and slumped back down into his chair.

"You need to leave." She sniffled.

"But I…" he stood up in protest.

"The kids movie is almost over and they're going to come running and begging to me to replay it. They can't see you." She explained.

"Fine." He bit back the hurt. "I'll see you later then." With that he was out the door and had vanished into the night.

"Mommy!" Emma called first. "Our movie went off."

"It's time for dinner anyway." Marinette called back as she gave the food one last stir. "Go sit at the table."

"Can we watch it again after dinner?" Louis walked into the kitchen.

"After dinner we need to get ready for bed." Marinette smiled, hoping she could appear normal.

"Mommy did you cry?" Emma held her brother's hand.

Yep, she failed.

Adrien flopped onto his bed in the hotel room and screamed into his pillow.

Plagg ate a whole wheel of camembert in one bite. "I'm proud of you kid."

Adrien snapped and gaped at the Kwami. "You can talk!"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure we already established that a long time ago."

Adrien rolled his own eyes. "I know you can talk, but why haven't you been talking? You kinda turned into a normal cat for a while."

"Didn't have much to talk about. You didn't talk much either." Plagg licked his paws. "You pretty much stewed in your own head for the past 3 years." He then began to bathe himself like a real cat. "There was nothing I could say that would have made you feel better. I could have told you Marinette and Ladybug were the same person, but that would have only made you feel worse. I knew there was no point in arguing when you wanted to transform at night and run around the city being a solo vigilante. I could have said a lot of things, but nothing would have helped."

Adrien sniffled, holding back his tears. "But you didn't have to stop talking."

Plagg sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Adrien rubbed his eyes. "I'm just glad you're not mad at me."

Plagg gave him a small smile and nuzzled his cheek. "I could never be mad at you kid."

Adrien smiled wide and held him while rubbing his head with his thumb.

The air was thick as Adrien helped Nino tie his tie the next day.

Nino smiled wide. "Thanks bro."

Adrien gave his best friend a warm smile. "No problem."

Nino loosened the caller of his dress shirt before he put on his jacket. "dude I'm sweating buckets and I probably smell awful." Nino's smile quickly faded.

"You'll be fine. Alya's not going to care." Adrien handed him some deodorant. "But here just in case."

Nino's smile returned. "Bro!" he quickly uncapped it and applied it under his shirt.

Adrien fixed his own tie as he gazed at himself in the mirror.

"How's New York?" Nino fixed his own suit.

"Lonely like homeschool." Adrien shrugged on his jacket. "But, I'm hoping to come home very soon."

"Bro!" Nino held up a fist. "That would be awesome."

Adrien smiled as he bumped his friend's fist. "Yeah."

Nino's smile wavered. "How did you convince your dad to let you come home?"

Adrien noticed a hair was out of place on his head, licked his thumb and smoothed it back into place. Unfortunately, it fell back to where it had been before. With a dejected sigh he looked back at his best friend who never had a bad hair day, considering Nino went to the barber every week to get a trim.

Adrien noticed something else, as teenagers, He was taller than Nino. But, while he was away, Nino had surpassed him by at least an inch or two. They were both still pretty tall so an inch or two really shouldn't have mattered. But the fact that Adrien was dwelling on it made him chuckled a little.

"Dude, when did you get taller than me?" Adrien smiled wide.

Nino rolled his eyes with a smile as he crossed his arms. "Don't try to change the subject bro."

With a sigh Adrien scratched the back of his neck. "it's… hey wait a minute!" he crossed his arms and model pouted. "How come whenever we talked on the phone you never mentioned Marinette had kids?"

Stunned, Nino shrugged. "Wasn't my news to tell bro."

Adrien deflated. "Oh, ok. Fair enough." He shrugged himself. "My excuse to come back home is messy and convoluted. Maybe it will make more sense by the time you and Alya get back from your honeymoon." He smoothed out his suit that he normally wore on Tuesdays.

Normally he paired this suit with a bold red tie and a matching immaculate handkerchief. But today… today it was orange, Alya's favorite color. The whole wedding party was wearing the color. He caught glimpse of a blonde bride's maid he didn't recognize, and her dress's color was a deeper more vibrant blood orange than his tie which was more of a tangerine. Nino's tie and handkerchief were a pure orange.

He chuckled to himself. "Think this wedding has enough orange?"

Nino smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alya told me Mari has everyone color coordinated." He pointed to his tie. "Alya is going to have this color somewhere on her." He then pointed to his best friend's tie. "You and Marinette are going to match because you're my best man and she's the maid of honor." He then shrugged. "Kim and Alex match, Max and Rose match, Luka and Juleka match…" He counted the wedding party on his fingers.

Adrien raised an eyebrow and interrupted. "Why are Juleka and Luka walking together? They're brother and sister."

Nino shrugged. "Because Rose is a bride's maid."

"Oh. Makes sense." Adrien nodded.

Nino smiled. "Anyway you get the picture."

"Are the twins part of the wedding?" Adrien asked remembering their formal attire that didn't fit the orange theme.

"Ring bearer and flower girl." Nino smiled and shrugged. "Their color is a blush orange." He sighed dejectedly. "I really don't want to think about how many shades of orange there are."

Adrien chuckled. "I bet."

Nino took a deep breath and puffed out his chest before he exhaled. "Can I just get married now; this waiting is killing me."

Adrien adjusted Nino's tie. "You'll be fine."

Nino rolled his eyes. "You've never been married."

Adrien pouted. "True, but neither have you."

The door burst open and in walked a stern looking woman in a black pencil skirt suit with an orange flower pinned to her lapel holding a clip board.

She flipped some papers on her clip board and looked up at Nino with an icy gaze. "Groom you are 2 minutes behind schedule. Please tell me you are not getting cold feet."

"No ma'am." Nino stiffened and stood up straight.

She let the papers fall back onto her clipboard. "Good." She exited the room. "You're late and everyone is waiting on you."

Nino waited until she was out of earshot and let out a breath he had been holding in. He looked back at Adrien. "Madam Lerona, the wedding planner, gives me the heebie geebies. But, she was highly reviewed, so Al hired her."

Adrien nodded and mouthed an "Oh".

The small church where the wedding was being held was covered in the same flowers that the wedding planner had on her collar. Adrien could pick out a few faces he recognized in the guests as he waited to march in.

Behind him he heard someone taking a deep breath. He gazed back and found Marinette. Nino wasn't lying when he said he and Marinette would be matching.

Her dress was simple but was very elegant. He glanced and found the other bride's maids were all sporting the same style dress. They all looked pretty, but Marinette glowed.

Her hair was in a bun, like the others, and the same orange flower was nestled into her raven locks. The dress was an off the shoulder type with lace sleeves. The skirt draped down almost to the floor, but you could still see the matching shoes.

She held up her arm for him to take. "Ready for the most important day in our best friend's lives?"

He just continued to stare at her in awe. How could it be possible for her to look so beautiful after raising two babies on her own?

Her smile faded into a look of annoyance. "Adrien, are you going to walk me down the aisle or not?" her arm fell to her side as she balled a loose fist with her other hand and placed it on her hip. "yeah I know the dress is ugly, but I didn't pick the color scheme."

"The dress is beautiful on you. You're beautiful. The twins' father was an idiot for leaving you." He blushed with a smile meaning every word. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world for leaving her.

She gasped, blushed, and rubbed her arms. "He said he didn't have a choice, but he's back and wants to be part of our lives again. He's never lied to me, so I trust him."

He gave her a knowing nod and held out his arm for her to lock with so they could walk down the aisle. She smiled and the doors to the chapel opened revealing friends, family and a whole lot of people they had never met. They walked behind Nino and Alya's mother to the rhythm of the organ playing.

Nino showed Alya's mother to her seat and she gave him a kiss on his cheek as a sign of her approval before she sat down next to her other daughters.

The groom's men and bride's maids got into position, silence fell over the church, then the organist began playing another tune.

The doors opened and Louis walked in holding a small pillow cradling a set of rings, concentrating on not tripping over his own two feet. Right behind him was Emma haphazardly tossing orange rose petals all over the place and a few guests. Lou gave Nino a fist bump and stood between him and Adrien. Em ran out of petals and ran to hold her mother's hand.

The congregation stood up as the key changed in the song as Alya and her dad marched in.

Alya must have been wearing contacts because her glasses were nowhere to be seen and she wasn't squinting to see.

Nino began to tear up.

"You're a lucky man bro." Adrien handed him a tissue.

"I know." Nino tried very hard to not show he was crying.

Alya's dad let go of her when they got to the alter and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He then sat down next to his wife whom was holding a box of tissues for him. He let his tears flow and blew his nose.

"We gather here today to join this man and woman together in marriage. If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace." The minster began the ceremony.

Another silence fell over the people, only a stray cough was heard from an old relative in the back with poor timing.

"Well then, let's begin." The minister looked back at his book.

Adrien didn't pay any attention to the ceremony. He was preoccupied with watching Emma twirl around and play with her dress. Marinette held the tot's hand, but Emma was still all over the place. Louis stood stiff as a bored in front of him, afraid to move, lest he drop the rings.

It amazed him how much the twins were like him and Mari. At that age, Adrien was like Emma, full of energy and all over the place. He guessed Mari instilled a sense of responsibility in Louis.

Next thing Adrien knew was Alya and Nino sharing their first kiss as a married couple and the reception just seemed to appear in front of him. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but dinner was now in front of him.

"And now time for the best man's speech." The DJ of the party handed him a microphone. He gulped his chicken dinner down and stood up from his seat.

He blushed and adjusted his collar. He practiced this on the flight over. "I met Alya and Nino on my first ever day of school. I thought they were both cool, and still do."

Nino raised a glass of wine. "You're cool too bro." He then pulled his new wife closer to him. She rolled her eyes and rested her head on his chest.

Adrien smiled. "It's hard to believe I tried to help set him up with her best friend, but I'm glad these two crazy kids got together instead."

Marinette coughed as she took a sip of wine when he said that. Adrien was there that day at the zoo?

"I can't imagine either of them ending up with anyone else. They're just purrrfect for each other." Adrien chuckled.

Marinette snapped her head over to look at Adrien better. Did he just make a cat pun?!

Adrien raised his wine glass. "To Alya and Nino!"

"To Alya and Nino!" The whole room cheered.

Marinette gulped down the rest of her wine. Was Adrien Chat Noir? That was impossible right?

She looked over and saw Louis sitting in Nino's lap next to Adrien. The resemblance between her son and former, yet reemerging, crush were undeniable, unmistakable… uncanny. How did she not notice before?

She then took a good hard look at Adrien. His smile, his mannerisms, his… everything screamed Chat. How did she not notice before?

It all made sense now. Chat WAS Adrien. His controlling dad, his want and need of affection and family, how he spoke like he was an adult when they were teens, how Chat seemed to always be posing as if he was on the cover of a magazine (because he was on magazine covers)… THE FEATHER ALLERGY! It all just clicked in her mind. She rejected Adrien FOR Adrien and he rejected her FOR her.

Her eyes twitched as she grabbed a full glass of wine from one of the server's trays. They must have been made for each other. She tossed back that glass, but the feeling of pure stupidity didn't go away.


End file.
